From toothpaste to cars to mobile phones, when it comes to buying almost any product these days, there&#;s no shortage of choices. But sometimes having so many options in front of you can be confusing and even overwhelming.
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The same thing can be said about choosing an industrial printing method. Printing is a very general term because it includes any process that transfers an original image &#; such as a film negative or positive, electronic memory, stencil, die, or plate &#; to paper or another substrate. This can be done on the product itself or the packaging.
There are numerous printing methods and technologies available to manufacturers &#; and each has its unique strengths and benefits. Here is a quick guide on how to determine the best printing solution for your application.
Flexographic printing.
Flexographic printing, or flexo for short, uses a flexible plate and a series of rollers to print artwork onto the desired substrate. These types of printers have been around for a long time, but the advancement of photopolymer plates has elevated the process to a high-quality, high-production industrial solution.
Flexographic printing may be the right solution for:
- Large volume runs
- Using up to 8 colors
- Converting on the same presses (laminating, die-cutting, slitting)
- Using thinner substrates
- Making a printed indicator
Screen printing.
Invented in China around AD, screen printing has long been an incredibly popular and effective printing method. With today's advanced technology, screen printing is more accurate and productive than ever before. But the idea is still relatively simple &#; a squeegee is used to press ink through mesh fabric and a stencil, which transfers the design to the underlying substrate.
Screen printing may be the right solution for:
- Durability and longevity
- Outdoor applications
- Thicker deposits
- Abrasion resistance
- Specialties such as UL, thermoformable/IMD, and conductive inks
- Thicker substrates
- Printed electronics
Digital printing.
Just like in many areas of our daily lives, digital technology has revolutionized the printing industry. Instead of spending the time and cost to create physical plates or screens, digital printing allows the computer design to go directly to the printer. Even more recently, digital printing presses have become more accurate and cost-efficient, making them viable options for many industrial printing applications.
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Digital printing may be the right solution for:
- Variable printing
- High resolutions
- Faster speeds, compared to other printing methods
- Complex colors
- Printing brand-protection features such as microtext, guilloches, and tactile images
Customizing and converting.
Depending on your application and needs, it's also possible to combine these printing methods or incorporate material converting techniques. When developing these custom applications, it's very beneficial to work with an experienced printing partner that also has the materials expertise to ensure optimal quality and avoid production issues.
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Compare all print methods: Dye Sub, DTG, DTF, Vinyl or Screen Printing: which is better?
There is no perfect t-shirt printing method. Every method is good in certain situations and bad in others. A lot of it depends on the blank t-shirt you want to use and how you want the finished product to perform. For instance&#;
- Dye sublimation lasts longer than screen printing. A dye-sublimated design will last as long as the t-shirt does, because the ink is embedded into the threads of the tee&#;s fabric. Over time, screen-printed ink can chip and fade.
- Direct-to-film printing, or DTF, is one of the best t-shirt printing techniques and involves printing designs onto a special PET film and then transferring them to a t-shirt using adhesive powder and heat. As opposed to DTG printing, DTF doesn&#;t require pre-treatment of the garment, as the design is pre-printed onto a film. This heat transfer method can be used on any type of fabric. Create polyester t-shirts or cotton t-shirts &#; the result is equally good. However, in DTG the design and inks are incorporated into the fabric. With the DTF method, the fixing powder renders the design plasticky and shiny. Because the colors do not interfere with the base color of the t-shirt, it gives a more vibrant end result.
- Dye sublimation lasts longer than screen printing. A dye-sublimated design will last as long as the t-shirt does, because the ink is embedded into the threads of the tee&#;s fabric. Over time, screen-printed ink can chip and fade.
- If speed is important, then Direct-to-Garment digital printing is better than screen printing. With screen printing, you need to first make a stencil for every individual color you want to use in your design; this setup process can take a long time. It can also be quite hard to find a company with a screen printer that can handle more than 4 colors (6 platen machines are much rarer than 4 platen machines). Direct to garment is a much better choice if you&#;re in a hurry.
- If you&#;re printing onto dark t-shirts, then screen printing is better than dye sublimation. This is because screen printing ink coats the outside of t-shirt fabric. Dye sublimation stains the threads of the tee, but it can&#;t overwrite the color that&#;s already there. If you print on a navy, grey or black t-shirt, screen printing or DTG is a much better choice for you.
- Sublimation doesn&#;t work on cotton t-shirts. The sublimation process only works on polyester fabrics. If you&#;re selling pure cotton tees, then you will be forced to use either DTG, screen printing or vinyl.
Ok so let&#;s make this easy!
So, with all of the different options available, how do you choose? Well, we have good news for you: we&#;ve made a t-shirt print method chart which you can download and keep!
On this grid, you can see what each print method will and won&#;t do. Depending on what&#;s important to your business and to your customer, you&#;ll be able to pick the right print method in a matter of seconds.
Still not sure? Contact us and we can help choose the right print method for your apparel line.
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If you are looking for more details, kindly visit One Stop Printing.